India v West Indies – 1st ODI – Match Preview
After securing a Test series win, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 in the fifty-over format with the first match being played at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack tomorrow, November 29, 2011.
The hosts were emphatic in the longer version of the game, showing time and again that they are a tough side to beat when it comes to playing on their home soil. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 found out just that as they stumbled to a 5-0 clean sweep, despite having the best of
years.
The equation is simple for the Men In Blue, which again will be looking to ensure that they keep a hundred percent winning record, despite the absence of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 and Sachin Tendulkar.
With one eye on the tour Down Under, the selectors finally realized to give their ever present skipper a deserved break, after playing nonstop cricket throughout the year. This also allows other players to prove their mettle and book a place in the squad
to face http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746.
This though also means that Indian fans will have to wait a little longer to see http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Tendulkar-c2556 getting to his hundredth ton. After coming so close in the final Test match, the management also decided to rest the Little Master for the first three limited
ODIs, which in turn will come handy considering the mammoth assignments to follow.
The key for the Men In Blue will be stand in skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/V-Sehwag-c2739. Having achieved starts in all the five-day games, he hasn’t been able to convert them into big scores so the shorter version and the batting friendly wickets will allow the flamboyant
player to get in his usual groove and treat the crowd to some power hitting.
The news on injury front is bleak with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Yuvraj-Singh-c98364 is still missing after suffering from lymphoma.
The tourists have plenty of problems still to address, despite earning a hard fought draw at Mumbai after scores were tied. The bowling looked impressive and delivered on a track which offered considerable turn on the final day.
However, the batting was a letdown which again fell cheaply to some excellent spin bowling of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RA-Jadeja-c2238.
Jadeja was exceptional against the Poms, putting in some special contributions with both bat and ball filling the role of a specialist all-rounder. The Windies will need to be at their best in order to cope with spin.
The One day fixtures see the return of power hitter, Kieran Pollard. The player has friendly association with the sub-continent, a frequent traveler to this region due to his ties with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 Indians. He will be looking to make a swift return to the national
team and provide the much needed stability in the middle-order.
The squad has a good mix of spin as well with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sunil-Philip-Narine-c91869 another key member. His rise came with the Trinidad & Tobago’s sublime performances in the Champions League T20, where batsmen found it hard to score off him.
As for the conditions, the day and night encounter always throws a few surprises so batting first will be ideal.
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